S&P threatens Portugal downgrade

Standard & Poor's tossed a bit of fuel on the euro zone financial blaze Tuesday by threatening to downgrade Portugal.

S&P put its A-minus long-term debt rating on Portugal on CreditWatch with negative implications, saying a downgrade is possible in the next three months. The move comes as the weaker European economies, known collectively as the PIIGS for Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain, are under attack in the bond markets.

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SEC breaks up in-law insider trading ring

The SEC said Tuesday it broke up a multimillion-dollar, trans-Atlantic, in-law insider trading ring.

The Securities and Exchange Commission charged Arnold McClellan, a San Francisco-based former partner with Deloitte Tax LLP, and his wife Annabel with reaping $3 million in ill-gotten gains by leaking Deloitte clients' acquisition plans to her London-based sister and brother-in-law.

Ill-gotten?

The agency said the brother-in-law, James Sanders of London, took the information on the acquisition plans and MORE

Talking Mary Meeker and digital investing with Kleiner Perkins' Ted Schlein

Venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins made headlines yesterday, hiring star tech analyst Mary Meeker away from Morgan Stanley. So we caught up with Ted Schlein, a KP managing partner who oversees digital investing, to ask about the hiring and where tech fits within the larger firm investment strategy.

I asked most of the questions, but some came from my colleague Adam Lashinsky (who also was on the call). Here you go:

Fortune: MORE

Does WikiLeaks really threaten the banks?

It's tough to see how the banks' reputation can get much worse -- which suggests this Wikithreat is probably illusory.

Julian Assange (right), Internet document leaker and publicity seeker extraordinaire, told Forbes in an interview published this week that he plans on releasing unauthorized documents about an unnamed big U.S. bank early next year.

Future's so bright...

Given the hubbub Assange has provoked with his previous releases on the U.S. military and MORE

Privatizing Social Security: Still a dumb idea

You thought it was dead, but with stocks on the rise, you can expect some brand new congressmen to give it new life.

The holiday season is upon us, making this a perfect time to go searching for turkeys -- the financial variety, of course. But this year, rather than looking backward at inept deals or government programs, let's try to find future turkeys.

And the biggest one is ... privatizing Social MORE

Private equity firm should answer for steakhouse shutdowns

Several years ago, my wife and I began something called BBQ chicken nacho night. Not a regular happening, but an occasional treat to celebrate special stay-at-home occasions (like the Lost finale). The star was cooked up at our local Bugaboo Creek steakhouse.

I know what you're probably thinking: "How unsophisticated." I don't care. It was the epitome of yumminess.

So imagine my surprise the other night, when I called in an order (first MORE

Pre-Marketing 11.30.10

* WikiLeaks' next target: A major American bank

* Stacey Higgenbotham: Forget net neutrality, Comcast might break the Web

* Kara Swisher: If Google buys Groupon, it will be a win for investors, bankers and... regulators

* Morning Call: U.S. futures point lower, London rises early, European shares climb and the Nikkei sheds 1.9%.

* The next binge drink: Alcoholic whipped cream in a can

* Mark Jeftovic: First they came for the file-sharing domains

* Heidi Moore: Management buyouts MORE

Ireland: From rags to riches to rags

How the tiny island country managed to stage a meteoric economic rise only to fall in a similarly spectacular fashion.

It wasn't long ago that U.S. multinational corporations entering European markets would almost always make tiny Ireland their first stop.

The draw of what used to be called the "Celtic Tiger" or the "Celtic Miracle" was obvious: Relatively low taxes and regulations, combined with a fairly young, smart, and English-speaking workforce. And MORE

What happens to Bank of Ireland's U.S. leveraged finance biz?

Bank of Ireland (IRE) got itself a bailout of the weekend, with the European Union and International Monetary Fund agreeing to backstop the bank's efforts to raise nearly €2.2 billion by February.

BoI hasn't provided specifics as to where the new money will come from, beyond promising "a combination of internal capital management initiatives, support from existing shareholders and other capital markets sources."

Here in the U.S., some are wondering what this all MORE

U.S. bank credit spreads widen

Ripples from the Irish bailout are showing up all over the globe.

The biggest reaction is in Europe, where the prices of Spanish and Portuguese bonds fell again and the price of protecting against a default on Belgian debt surged 13% (see CMA chart, right).

A panic sprouts in Brussels

Credit default swap spreads also soared on Dexia, the biggest Belgian bank, which is operating with state support thanks to a 2008 MORE